09 Aug
History, Religion

Why Should Zion Mourn?

By Adina Rosenthal “The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn assembly; all her gates are desolate… and she herself is in bitterness.” These words are found in the opening lines of Eichah, The Book of Lamentations, read each year on Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av. Known as one of the saddest days on the Jewish calendar, Tisha B’Av commemorates the calamities that have befallen the Jewish people, particularly the destructions of both the First and Second Temple and the subsequent creation of the Jewish Diaspora. Serving as the culmination of the three-week period of mourning, beginning with the fast of the 17th of Tammuz,  Tisha B’Av is customarily observed by fasting from sunset to sunset, refraining from bathing, and reciting Eichah, Jeremiah's poetic lamentation over...

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08 Aug
Uncategorized

Strauss-Kahn—Still Bad For The Jews?

By Theodore Samets The idea that France was set to have a Jewish president before the United States sounded weird, anyway. Of course, some might argue that the current holder of the office, Nicolas Sarkozy, is himself Jewish; his son even married a nice Jewish girl a few years ago. But Dominique Strauss-Kahn has turned out to be too good to be true. Strauss-Kahn, as anyone who has ventured out in public in the past three months knows, was the managing director of the International Monetary Fund and front-runner for the French presidency until he allegedly attempted to rape a housekeeper in his New York Sofitel hotel suite. The Manhattan district attorney’s allegations against DSK were splashed across the cover of every newspaper in New York. His bail was set at $6 million. As New York magazine puts it this week...

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03 Aug
Culture, History

The anti-Manischewitz

By Adina Rosenthal Move over Manischewitz; Jewish wine is no longer synonymous with the sweet, syrupy stuff used for Jewish ceremonies. The Israeli wine and beer industry has boomed in the last few years, becoming a player in the global alcohol market.  In 2010, the Israeli beer market grew to about one million hectoliters (26.5 million gallons), a 20 percent increase from the previous year. Though no one can be sure, “applying the foreign experience on the Israeli market will lead to the conclusion that there is still a great potential in this market.” For Israeli wine, exports reached $23 million dollars, with local consumption accruing an additional $100 million dollars for 2010 alone. According to Israeli wine critic, Daniel Rogov, “Today, you'll find that people are looking for Israeli wines that meet international standards...

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02 Aug
Uncategorized

A Golden Opportunity for Livni

By Niv Elis It’s not clear why the Israeli left has shied away from putting economic arguments for peace front and center.  But the recent explosion of economically driven populist angst may change all that. For nearly two weeks, Israeli citizens have protested en masse in the streets of Tel Aviv, building tent cities along its main drag, Rothschild Boulevard, and across the country.   Though popular disaffection with consumer prices, particularly housing, are at the heart of the the protests, growing economic inequality (persistent through strong general growth) and the neighboring protests of the Arab spring have fueled them.  Because the protests represent a significant challenge for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his economic policies, they also provides an opportunity for the opposition leader, Tzipi Livni. Sitting atop the largest party in the Knesset, which was thrust into...

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29 Jul
Culture, History

Not the First (or Last) Jew in Spain

by Hilary Weissman While studying abroad in Spain this spring. I found myself unintentionally making numerous trips to the southern town of Córdoba– it served as a stop along the way in order to make the most of my EuroRail pass at the end of the semester. Córdoba’s storied Jewish heritage manifested itself when my sister and I were lucky enough to find the Mazal Sephardic restaurant (pun very intended) during my second visit. We sampled pumpkin flan and raisin roasted chicken with rice before the start of Passover, which we later celebrated with a congregation from Madrid. Other than the saffron-spiced yellow gefilte fish, the seder experience felt very familiar, as I was lucky to have my sister there with me to celebrate, daiyenu. We were transported between two different worlds as the Rabbi delivered...

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14 Jul
Arts & Culture

Debunking the Harry Potter Antisemitism Myth

Judaism, Harry Potter and Antisemitism Entire books have been written on Potter philosophy and Torah wisdom (see Moment’s interview with Dov Krulwich), and some commentators have posited that its magicians—chosen people  misunderstood by others—are essentially Jewish.  Yet, others also a postulate a rather unfortunate perspective that J.K. Rowling and her Harry Potter series are guilty of perpetuating an antisemitic slur: underhandedly equating the book’s loathsome goblins with Jews. The Antisemitic Goblin-as-Jew The goblin-as-Jew allegation deserves assessment, partly because antisemitism is so serious, but also because if the complaint is true, millions of Jews, including yours truly, could not continue to happily reread and rewatch one of the greatest stories ever told. The theory—as put forth by one its leading proponents Matt Zeitlin—is pretty simple: The goblins, especially as depicted in the movies, are universally hooked nosed, short, unattractive, and green. …Professor...

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14 Jul
Arts & Culture

Shakespeare’s “Merchant of NYC”

By Sarah Breger; Interview by Sophie Taylor To stage The Merchant of Venice is courageous; to stage The Merchant of Venice so soon after the celebrated Al Pacino-led performance on Broadway even more so. The Washington Shakespeare Theatre’s production—a re-imagining of the play in 1920s New York—certainly does not lack for guts, but this madcap romp through the Lower East Side yields mixed results. In Director Ethan McSweeny’s beautifully staged production, Venice is New York, Antonio and his fellow gentry are Italian Mafioso—and the Jews? Well, they seem to be Lower East Side Hasidim. Ignoring the fact that the twenties were glory days for Jewish mobsters (think Bugsy Siegal, Meir Lansky et al.) McSweeny chooses to dress his Jews in beards and payos, playing them as insular ultra-Orthodox.  (This was especially disappointing for me, since I was...

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14 Jul
Arts & Culture

Shakespeare's "Merchant of NYC"

By Sarah Breger; Interview by Sophie Taylor To stage The Merchant of Venice is courageous; to stage The Merchant of Venice so soon after the celebrated Al Pacino-led performance on Broadway even more so. The Washington Shakespeare Theatre’s production—a re-imagining of the play in 1920s New York—certainly does not lack for guts, but this madcap romp through the Lower East Side yields mixed results. In Director Ethan McSweeny’s beautifully staged production, Venice is New York, Antonio and his fellow gentry are Italian Mafioso—and the Jews? Well, they seem to be Lower East Side Hasidim. Ignoring the fact that the twenties were glory days for Jewish mobsters (think Bugsy Siegal, Meir Lansky et al.) McSweeny chooses to dress his Jews in beards and payos, playing them as insular ultra-Orthodox.  (This was especially disappointing for me, since I was...

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12 Jul
Uncategorized

United (Nations) We Fall

By Adina Rosenthal Anthony Weiner may have proved that social media can reveal the naked truth, but a far more stark reality has emerged from the personal blog of the United Nations Special Rapporteur to the Palestinian Territories, Richard Falk.  Earlier this month, he posted a cartoon on his personal blog depicting a dog on a leash wearing a kippah bearing the Star of David, bloodied by chewing on a pile of bones while urinating on his owner, Lady Justice. In response, both the United States and Jewish groups like the Anti-Defamation League, have called for U.N. Human High Commissioner, Navi Pillay, to condemn Falk, and demanded his resignation. Though initially denying the cartoon’s anti-Semitic connotations, as Falk himself is Jewish, he eventually deleted the post and issued an apology, claiming he did not see the Jewish...

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